2. analog
  3. 181738-1590

Should I buy an SME 30/12A for 15K?

I am a vinyl newbie with maybe 100 LPs (or less) in my collection. I have had a Technics SL1210GAE for past 2 years, I just plugged and played it. It’s good but my digital is almost as good or sometimes better.

I recently heard a SME 30/12A at the dealer’s, and it blew my mind, and my digital was no where close (the dealer had almost the same digital -- mine is Nagra Tube DAC, his was the Nagra HD DAC -- and we did on spot comparison, not an apples to apple of course but still best that we could under the circumstances).

 

Now given my relative inexperience with vinyl (I know next to nothing about setup), should I plunge for this offer which is offered to me at 1/3rd the retail price and probably an endgame TT for me.

 

Thoughts?

Also, is this as great an offer as I think it is, are there better TTs at 15K$ retail price (I cannot/will not buy used) than the SME 30/12A?

essrand

Showing 4 responses by lewm

lewm
12,543 posts
 

Perhaps there is no risk in this case, but several years ago I nearly bought an SME30 from a seller in the UK, off eBay. I smelled a rat after the seller requested payment via bank transfer, and I asked for his address. That turned out to be the address of a pub in London. An inquiry sent to the pub manager quickly revealed they knew nothing about turntables. What interested me was the indignance of the "seller", once I exposed him.  The price was definitely "too good to be true".

lewm
12,543 posts
 

There has been 100% consensus that the SME at the quoted price is a bargain, like the SME or not.  For that reason, I think, the thread has wandered off course.  What more can anyone say about the question of whether the price is a good one? Perhaps the OP will let us know what are his intentions. Then we can put this to rest.

lewm
12,543 posts
 

Pindac, it occurs to me that at current exchange rates and considering your quoted cost for an SP1000R (SP10R plus plinth and tonearm) of 16K GBP, you could fly to Tokyo, have a nice vacation in Japan, and return to the UK with an SP1000R and cash to spare. Make no mistake, that unit ought to outperform any SP10 mk2.

lewm
12,543 posts
 

At your dealer, was it the same cartridge? Was it the same, phono stage, amplifier, and speakers as you use at home? If not, how do you really know that the SME performed any better than your technics? If you just want to buy the SME 30 because it seems like a great deal, and if you have thea disposable income, you don’t need to ask us. Just go for it. but I would not rely upon that one listening session as a basis for any belief that having the SME 30 in your home system will be a revelation, apart from the revelation that comes with having spent a great deal of cash. 

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